Monster World: Shards
by Megazord Master
Summary: Four Turtles. Four Viewpoints. Four Worlds. One Day.
1. Introduction

Monster World: Shards

1: Introduction

Every single outcome produces a different reality.

A turn left here or a slip of the tongue there could mean a lot of things. Those who died before may have lived. Those who lived may have died. The Multiverse is a fickle construct and many alternate realities indeed exist within the same timeframe. It is only in the very rare cases that people from one timeline can cross over and see what life is like on the other side of the veil. This is the story of four beings; living the same day…but from four very different perspectives.

Welcome to a world where monsters run freely over a world where humanity is either teetering on the brink of extinction or flourishing under the rule of the Masters. Remember – four people, four worlds and four viewpoints of the same day.

These are the Shards of the Monster World.


	2. Chaos and Ruin

AN: Below is the only continuation of the original Monster World that will (more than likely) ever see the light of day. Whatever happens from the end of the chapter till Exile is up to you to decide.

2: Chaos and Ruin

"What the Hell? We _needed_ the Last Hope to get back to New York!"

Raph sighed and pushed Casey out of the way. Blowing up their only method of making it back to Manhattan was necessary for several reasons. The hard truth of the matter was Leonardo was dead. He had been killed five years ago by his own brother who was in a state of berserker rage…after which the world had gone straight to Hell. Monsters had popped up everywhere around the Earth after the strange light in the sky and humanity had all but been driven extinct by the hordes of beasts that roamed the landscape. He had willingly separated himself from his family and friends and had been on a solo mission to single-handedly kill as many monsters as he could.

That had worked pretty well in theory; yet he kept crossing paths with his estranged family…almost like fate was stepping in and pushing him in the direction of his family yet again. He had saved one brother from bleeding to death after the violent loss of his leg and his remaining brother kept him up to date with news and information about the movement of various creatures. A few days ago, he had decided to leave the relative safety of New York behind him and had gone to see his family to convey his goodbyes, but to his absolute shock – they had insisted coming along with him. One of his brothers had been working on a battle tank/jet hybrid of sorts at the request of the lost brother. The only catch was the completed project was deep inside the territory of the only creature to go toe-to-toe with the most dangerous monsters on a seemingly daily basis – the Wraiths.

The battle to claim the Last Hope had been vicious and bloody…and not without its casualties. Looking around him at the members who still remained, he growled to himself as he remembered seeing his father lead three Wraiths into a trap that should have destroyed them…only for them to have turned the trap around and kill Master Splinter instead. Their final casualty could have been avoided…if only he'd taken the time to check that everything was closed. A heavily wounded Wraith had snuck into the craft on takeoff and had fatally injured April seconds before dissolving into a pile of sand. The former scientist had only enough time to convey two messages of love and apology before she was taken from them forever.

"You think I don't know that? But we were ambushed on landing and there was no way I was going to abandon Leo's last wish to those thugs!"

Casey bit back a curse and nodded; swiping his eyes with the back of his hand. It was utterly disgusting how low some human survivors were willing to go; just to get some form of safety and security. The battle to just leave the Last Hope had been bloody and vicious and he had seen Raph get stabbed in a hand with a rusty blade. There was a very good chance that the wound would be infected and he would be forced to cut off his hand before the infection spread up his arm.

"We're coming up on the abandoned base. Hopefully we can get some supplies there. Transport could be useful as well."

The orange clad brother nodded absently. His heart was still heavy at the loss of their father and surrogate older sister but he guessed that was how things went in this new world that was filled with uncertainties. He wished for the easygoing days of ages long past; where all they had to worry about was the next battle and making it home in time to the cartoons to start up. He looked to his belt and internally winced as he saw the lone nunchaku stained with red and white flecks. Fighting the monsters had taught him one thing and it was something that he had seriously taken to heart.

Live in the present moment…because that might be the only moment you have left.

TBC…


	3. Wealth And Security

AN: And here's another AU of Monster World/TMNT. Details are after the break. Enjoy!

3: Wealth and Security

"Brother, it is time."

The turtle nodded at his brother and turned to look out the window to the city below. It had been five years since the monsters had flooded the streets and five years since his brother had been killed. Five years…how quickly time flew by. They had allowed humans into their buildings and had managed to keep the monsters at bay but in the rest of the world, humanity wasn't so lucky. Sometimes he was grateful they had been uncovered by the humans so quickly after their mutation but at other times…he wished otherwise. There would have been a lot of things that they wouldn't have been able to do like drive or research into highly advanced technologies but there were other things that would have been more relaxed if they hadn't been found. What those things were, he didn't know or have a clue about…but that was in the past. Rather, it was in some alternate reality that his brother was sure existed out there.

Walking out of his suite, he adjusted his jacket over his shell and attached the twin ceremonial straight-edged ninjato to his belt. His eyes misted over as he looked at an old photo on the wall that showed all four brothers and their father in a relaxed state. He cursed internally as he thought of the tragedy that had befallen them on that night. If he concentrated hard enough, he could almost hear the sickening cracks as his brother's shell was ripped into by the vigilante and his motley crew. He didn't blame April for leaving their group to go on her solo missions in the world; she had been the closest to him after all. His death was just the tipping point for the young human who had made the discovery of a lifetime at such a young age. Nodding at the soldiers outside the door, he walked down the hall to the elevator and pressed the call button. The doors silently opened and he stepped inside. He closed his eyes but slowly opened them at the familiar rough tone of his other brother.

"Can you believe these reports? Sydney is pretty much done for but there's some whack job down there defeating the Wraiths that just popped up last month. Whatever he's using, we need to find out for ourselves."

Glancing at his other brother next to him, he smirked and shook his head slightly. He had heard of the strange hero roaming around the streets of Sydney with a steadily growing band of supporting crew. He had glanced at the reports and already knew that the Wraiths were immune to all kinds of damage – except extreme heat. Where the strange wanderer was getting the heat needed to destroy the Wraiths…he didn't know; but he was willing to bet it was from the strangely untouched buildings of Australasia Worldwide. The former educational college was hiding something from them but he guessed it wasn't his place to ask what it was. Running a critical eye over his brother's rumpled suit and hastily tacked on Sai, he chuckled slightly.

"Raph, can't you at least look presentable for one day?"

His brother arched an eye ridge and shook his head.

"Cut me some slack. I almost forgot what day it was. These worldwide security reports are a joke. The only places with reasonable security and safety are the places we can't go to without being fried. Better to focus on what we can do here…such as killing whatever monsters we can."

He nodded, agreeing with his brother's sentiment. Their father had been changed the most by their discovery; taking on the title of Master and stating that his word was absolute. When the monsters had surged through the vortex, he had temporarily reverted to his old persona and had collected the family group together. It had saved the lives of the three brothers but the life of the youngest had been taken anyway. The Master had holed up in his room ever since and was either in mourning or dead from an illness…no one wanted to know which one was worse. As the elevator car stopped, they walked through the doors to where their other brother was waiting. Like the others, he was dressed in a jacket that stretched over his shell and had somehow attached a ceremonial Bo staff to his shell.

"Numbers out there are around three-quarters of the people. Other quarter is on the guard roster for today. Still, thirty thousand people are here and they're living in relative wealth and security. They're waiting for you, Leo."

Leonardo nodded at Donatello and steeled himself for the crowd that lay on the other side of the door. Pushing it open, he was welcomed by a roar of cheers for the Turtle Saviours as they were called. He held up a hand and, when the crowd had quietened down, began to speak.

"My friends, today marks the fifth year since M-Day; the day of Monsters. We have lost many brave fighters since that day but today we honour their sacrifice in the name of freedom and humanity!"

The crowd roared in support and he smiled back. The volume increased when his brothers stood by his side and began waving to their admirers. Leo looked over to the plaque on the wall and smiled sadly at the image of his deceased brother that was emblazoned on it for all eternity. Today was a day of reflection and celebration.

Tomorrow, the plan to reclaim Earth began.

TBC…

AN2: In this world, the TMNT were discovered by a young April who had fallen into the sewers in her youth. Her family broke the news of sentient turtles and a rat and became extremely famous and wealthy and absorbed the US branch of The Foot (what they did with Shredder is anyone's guess). Michelangelo was killed by a vigilante group led by Casey Jones for being a monster and for not defending himself against them. Yes, implied Kamen Rider Tyrant happening in this Monster World.


	4. Reverse

AN: Enjoy and explanation after the jump!

4: Reverse

"Well, that's the last of them in this section."

He nodded and holstered his pistol. He looked at the bodies in front of him and shook his head in sorrow. Had it only been five years since this whole mess started? Some days, it felt like fifty years had passed but he knew better. Monsters had surged through strange pillars of light and flooded the Earth with their filth and savagery. They swarmed everywhere, ripping away the natural beauty of the world and capturing the Eldest for food and…something much worse. He didn't want to think about it but he forced himself to do so.

He remembered the yells of pain mixed with the depraved grunting of the creatures as they ripped into the Eldest with their fingers and whatever rudimentary tools they could get their hands on. He remembered seeing the various fluids leak out of the body of the Eldest as they finished their savage rituals and he saw the terror and disgusted pleasure in the dead eyes of his brother. The only positive they had in the whole mess was the capture and study of one of the many monsters. Strangely, it seemed that whatever world these creatures had come from – they were the top predator around. Despite this impressive feat, they had little to no external weapons.

Their teeth contained few incisors and looked like they were mostly used to grind up their food before swallowing. Their nails grew at an incredibly slow rate and – in an unbroken state – didn't have any sort of edge to them, let alone any sharp points. They could run incredibly fast but tired out after a few minutes and the specimen they had picked up showed high amounts of intelligence and would even try to communicate with them in some strange language.

"I don't get it, bro. They outnumber us but yet they don't have any sort of united front."

He nodded absently and wiped the blood off his upper arms. It was rather perplexing that the monsters didn't seem to have any sort of organisation amongst themselves. Instead, they had split off into distinct groups and were more pre-occupied with killing each other than their attackers. They had captured a few more specimens since that day and had introduced them into the habitat of the original specimen. The other males had been found strangled to death the next morning which left the original male alone with several females of seemingly different species. Two of the other females had spawned smaller monsters within the span of a few months and the researchers had separated a seemingly unwanted baby monster from the rest to dissect.

"Guess that's how they managed to survive in their world. What did the techs say they called themselves?"

His brother scratched his head with the butt of his pistol and frowned. One of the more 'strung-out' researchers had managed to communicate with another specimen and learn about the world where they had come from. They had stripped the planet clean of natural resources but could not journey past their moon. The discovery of the dimensional walls had been a shock to them and had shaken up everything they believed in…but they had concentrated their remaining energy into breaking the barriers and coming into whatever world they saw first. It had been pure luck that the first world hadn't been home to frenzied dinosaurs or something; but they had come through unprepared for what they found. His brother plucked a small fish bone out of his teeth and looked to the pile of pale-skinned bipeds with hair on their bodies.

"Humans. They call themselves human."

TBC…

AN2: In this world, monsters roam the streets in harmony. The pillars of light were an attempt to break through the dimensional barriers and have a mass exodus into another world on the part of the humans. They failed miserably. Imagination is key for what happened to the Eldest (Raph)


	5. Apocalypse

AN: This is the 2nd last chapter. TMNT 2K3 universe with a difference. Only the ending remains…

5. Apocalypse

Some days went from bad to worse.

Leonardo lifted his chainsaw blade from the corpse in front of him and kicked its mangled head away with a grunt. April had outdone herself again with the ingenious idea to combine a chainsaw with one of his dulled ninjato. While the first attempts had produced results that were…less than stellar; she had persevered and created a weapon that was deadly yet elegant. He checked himself for bites as he kept and ear out for his brothers and thought about the events of the past seven years.

Battles with the Shredder had become fairly routine and Karai had even started to grow bored with the somewhat harebrained ideas he was starting to come up with…except the last and final plan which had filled her with dread. Compiling his research into one simple formula, the Utrom had discovered how to create willing soldiers from the corpses of his deceased Foot ninjas. Fighting the reanimated corpses had been a bit challenging at first; especially as Mikey had treated it like some B grade horror movie but they realised the only way to truly destroy the corpses was to destroy the brain.

And then the infection had spread.

It wasn't like a zombie movie where everyone and their dog became a zombie. Most people didn't even know they were carriers of the infection until they died…and that produced another set of problems as the new zombies retained all of their knowledge and speech and didn't take too kindly to the ninjas trying to recruit them to deal with a quartet of mutant turtles and a rat. A new meme had spread because of this new phenomena and #zombieworldproblems was trending almost daily on Twitter as newly reborn humans tried to wrap their minds around becoming zombies. After talking and negotiations with the Foot, most of the new zombies joined up with them but there was a small percentage that wanted to live in peace and quiet. Much to everyone's surprise; Shredder had decreed that they be left alone in peace…as even the Utrom was shocked at how quickly it had spread into the human populace.

"This section is clear. Word has it there's more Chupacabra's up north."

Sighing heavily, he slid the weapon into a custom made sheath on his shell and looked at his remaining brothers. They still had their traditional ninja weapons hanging off their belts but had embraced the gun culture that was rapidly becoming the normal way of life since Max Winters had botched up the ages old ritual to 'cleanse the world' or something like that. Shaking his head, he nodded to Raph to sheathe his shotgun as he thought of the 'Day of Light' as it was called. Exactly five years ago, large columns of light had been sighted all over the world; twisting and turning like miniature tornadoes. Humans and zombies had gawked at the spectacle and – for a few days – it had been regarded as the Second Coming. It had been a second coming all right, but not the one that the religious fanatics were wanting.

Exactly seven days after the pillars had sprung forth – a veritable tidal wave of monsters of all shapes and sizes had come rushing out. The 'true believers' that had camped outside the pillars of light were the first to be devoured by their 'saviours'. The world had gone to Hell in a handbasket and they had been forced to band together with Bishop to just stay alive. It had been worse when Leatherhead had been infected by the zombie virus and had bitten Donatello during one of his rampages. Leo had personally cut down the zombified mutant crocodile but his brother had escaped the cull. Later, he would learn that Don had willingly joined the Foot and had been reduced to a floating head in a tube while the rest of him was used in anti-zombie experiments. Since his defection, they had seen him a total of three times but Karai kept them up to date on his situation periodically. The female ninja was accompanying them on a battle for control of the Upper West Side and Leonardo had to admire her tenacity to fight with one hand.

"Sir, Unit Three reports heavy fire coming from up ahead. Reports suggest that it's one of the Dragon Wraiths."

Nodding at the human, Leo sighed and listened out for the tell-tale beat of wings in the air. The Dragon Wraiths were the result of one of Shredder's failed attempts of dealing with ht monsters that had swarmed over the world. A fusion of a Dragon and a Wraith; the initial test subjects had escaped captivity and were carving out a small niche for themselves as being one of the deadliest monsters in the New World. Only high impact incendiary rounds could do any damage to them at all and it took a bare minimum of a burning steamroller to crash into them to destroy them. Unfortunately, they had found out how to reproduce and their numbers had rocketed up. Karai had unconfirmed reports of a group in Sydney that were effectively battling the Wraiths but the Australian branch of the Foot had yet to confirm sightings.

"Can't believe they trust us so readily. We look like monsters and yet…"

Leo nodded at Raph and reflected on their relationship with the remaining humans and the 'friendly' zombies. They had revealed themselves to the public soon after the Day of Light and had braced themselves for the worst. Instead of being feared as monsters; the populace welcomed them as saviours and heroes. Even when Donatello left them; he was still talked about as a lone hero that fought alone with the power of science on his side. Or it was something along the lines of willingly turning himself into a Cyborg to defeat the evil monsters…or something that turned their brother into a science-fiction superhero.

"Come on, Leo. Let's back them up."

Nodding again, he ran up with the others and unholstered two Uzis from his back. Motioning with his hands, he opened fire upon the towering creature while the squad behind him quickly set up the flamethrower turrets. The creature roared in anger as the bullets shattered the mirrored armour on its scales. Clenching his teeth together, Leo gave the signal for the launchers to open fire. He didn't mind giving the signal as it was now his only method of communication.

After all, it was impossible to talk without a tongue.

TBC…

AN2: World building is done in-story. Leo's tongue was ripped out subduing Leatherhead. Also in this universe, Ninja Tribunal season/Fast Forward never happened.


	6. Endings

AN: Final chapter. No more after this.

6: Endings

"Will you please stop, brother?"

He lifted his eyes away from the Dragon Wraith battle and looked up. Standing in the doorway was his elder brother with his arms folded across his chest and a concerned look on his face. Closing the connection as the Wraith began to fall to the trash strewn alley; he hung his head and sighed.

"It's not fair that we can't do anything."

The brother nodded once and for what seemed to be the millionth time; lamented their fates as guardians of that sector of the Multiverse. It was a destiny that none of them took lightly and had learned over the years to detach themselves from what they could see on the various worlds; although there were always a few worlds which captured their interest a little too much. Though they wanted to; they could not change the destinies of those worlds. One brother would always die or separate himself from the group permanently and the monsters would still swarm over the world. Whatever opposing force they had would be either wiped out during the initial surge or would be reduced to a literal shadow of their former glory. Sometimes, the opposing force would strengthen their position in the world but these cases were few and far between.

A strange connection that ran through the worlds was that a city in Australia seemed to be the least affected by the devastation occurring everywhere else. Closer inspection revealed the creation of a company prior to the coming of the monsters called Australasia Worldwide or some variant of the name. Cross-checking with the other Multiversal Guardians confirmed that this company was present in a small handful of dimensions concerning the use of powerful crystal artefacts called the Ultra Crystals; although the presence of strong magic was enough to see the company created. Walking toward his seated brother, he placed a hand on his shoulder and looked at the table his brother was seated at. On the desk were four medium-sized clamshell devices they used for closer inspection of the universes. The only one closed was the one his brother held in his hand and he glanced at the images briefly.

"Remember, what is to happen is not for us to decide."

The younger brother nodded and after a beat; closed the lids on the open devices slowly. The last image he saw was of the so-called 'original' Monster World as the survivors finally reached the abandoned military installation. Sighing, he pushed himself away from the table and walked to the window. As he watched the glowing spheres slowly move around the inky sky, he looked for the brightest sphere which was the 'core' world and the one that he was most interested in watching. From his dreams, he knew that the survivors would eventually meet up with the stone generals again and free Max Winters from his endless journeys and they would put an end to the whole mess. They would lose Casey right at the end but it would be worth it as the world would be free once more.

"You alone cannot predict the future for any of the worlds. Remember; we tried it once and saw as more worlds spawned. Even altering an event years prior to the invasion spun off another world with that inevitable conclusion. Try as we might, we cannot alter the course of destiny to avoid that event."

The youngest nodded as the other two brothers filed into the room. They had been watching their dimensions and had heard the conversations of their brothers; snapping them back to reality. From dimensions where the Shredder had been horribly mutated by his own hands to worlds where all four brothers travelled the worlds of cyberspace in Power Ranger-like suits; all worlds under their care succumbed to their Monster World destiny eventually. Even the world that had no connections to others; where they had been joined by a female mutant turtle and were pursued by humanoid dragons…that dimension fell to the Monsters as well. Ironically, the so-called Dragon Lord had been eaten alive by a strange turtle monster.

"I don't get it, bro. You always say we can't influence what will happen but we did it in the past. Who took that power away from us?"

The Eldest walked past the window of the multiverse and drew back the blinds on a window on the fourth wall that was normally kept hidden from view. Looking past the armoured glass, he pointed at the dozens of strange humans looking at them through their computer screens. The remaining brothers nodded as they shrank back under the intense scrutinies of the human gazes. The eldest looked at the eyes and nodded respectfully at the human in the centre; an Asian man with short black hair, wearing a blue long sleeved shirt and typing words out rapidly while looking around him furtively as if he was looking at who may be watching him. He watched the man push up his glasses and look out the window near to him to smile at the brilliant blue sky over the city.

"He will always be dreaming up the ideas and, although he may not write them down, they will always create new universes. The Lord and Master of our existence and of the section of the Multiverse we govern…

He is the Megazord Master."

END


End file.
